Press construction



Oct. 10, 1939. w. CLOUSE PRESS coNs'rR'ucTIoiv Filed Sept. 9, 1957 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Patented o r. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES 2,175,142 Plmss cons'mocnon William L. Clouse,

'rimn. ND, assignor to The National Machinery Company, Tlflin, Qhio, a

. corporation of Ohio Application September 9, 1937, Serlal No. 163,108

11 Claim.

This invention relates to press construction and more particularly to a bed frame die support for a heavy duty press.

In heavy duty presses such as are employed to press or coin relatively large sections of steel -or malleable iron it is desirable that means be incorporated in the die structure which shapes the parts to provide a release in the event that the press becomes stalled or jammed on the down center phase of its stroke. Numerous expedients have been proposed to provide the'release required to free thepress slide from the work and among the most successful of such expedients is a device including an inclined wedge arranged beneath the bed frame die. Ordinarily the bed frame has been cut away so as to slope from the front of the press toward the back in that area directly beneath the lower face of the heading s ide at an angle of about and a 10 wedge is arranged upon this cut away face to support the bed frame die. The conventional method of retaining the wedge in position with the bed frame die in alignment with the dies on the reciprocating slide comprises an integrally cast ledge or bracket across the back of the bed frame carrying a plurality of large bolts threaded into the bed frame bracket and bearing against the rear face of the wedge. In the event of a jam or stalling of the machine with the header slide in its down center position, the bolts in the bed frame bracket are turned so as to withdraw them from. engagement with the wedge and the wedge forcibly hammered down its incline through a hammering lug or the like generally arranged toproject at the forward side of the press.

Among the disadvantages associated with the conventional wedge construction described above is that the inclined surfaces on the wedge and bed frame may be affected by rust and scale or the like so as to resist movement and render it impossible to drive the wedge down the slope and release'the machine. A further disadvantage associated with the conventional type of wedge support construction described above is that where the wedge is well lubricated and free to slide down the slope on the bed frame, it tends to transmit the high pressures occurring during pressing to the threads in the bolts designed to hold the wedge in position. Under the tremendous pressure existing in pressing large pieces of metal the threads of the bolts employed to retain the wedge in position tend to give way under the pressure and permit the wedge to float slightly under heading slide pressure. Any floating of the wedge will obviously effect a misaligncomponent.

yet will rigidly maintain ment between the dies on the slide and the dies in the bed frame and thus adversely affect the quality of the work and the successful operation of the press. It will be understood by those familiar with the pressingart that where at-v 5 tempts are made to cure a sticking or jamming of the wedge in place under overload by increasing the angle of the wedge, the likelihood of bringing about the second disadvantage mentioned is' increased. This occasioned by the fact, that an increase in the angle of the wedge will transmit to the threads of the bolts designed to retain the wedge in position a greater component of the slide thrust.

Even in press constructions where the bolts employed to retain the wedge in its position are able to resist the lateral thrust in the wedge from the slide, the bed frame bracket carrying the bolts tend to deflect under this lateral pressing conventionally employed to retain the wedge in position project from the back of the bed frame and thus tend to interfere with the discharge of pressed pieces through the open'back of the machine.

It is among the objects of my invention to provide a press construction in which the bed frame die will be supported upon a wedge which may be released in the event of a jam or overloadand in position during pressing. It is a further object of my invention to provide a press construction in which the wedge holding bracket and bolts ordinarily arranged at the back of the machine may be dispensed with so convenient ejection of pressed pieces through the back of the press. It is a further object of my invention to provide a press construction in which the bed frame die is supported by a wedge arranged to effect release by being moved later- 0 ally of the press. It is a further object of my invention to provide a press in which a die support wedge is arranged transversely of the press from front to back. It is a further object of my invention to provide a wedge construction for 45 a press in which the major component of the header s'ide force is directed downwardly to the base of the bed frame of the press and a minor component of the header slide force is directed laterally in two directions normal to each other. 50

It is a further object of my invention to provide a wedge construction for a press in which a main wedge is restrained from movement with respect to the bed frame by a minor wedge arranged to resist in two directions the lateral pressure of 66 increased danger of floating is 10 The bolts and bracket structure the bed frame dies as to provide Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view with parts broken away of a press constructed according to my invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view taken along the lines- 2-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view partly in section taken along the line 3-4 of Figure 2.

I have obtained the objects above outlined and have avoided the disadvantages of the prior art constructions generally outlined in the paragraphs preceding my objects by providing a press wherein the main wedge supporting bed frame die assembly is arranged with respect to the bed frame upon an inclination exceeding 10 so as to insure that the wedge will slip under overload and arranged to resist the tendency of the wedge to move during pressing by means'of a second wedge adiustably held in resisting position.

Preferably the main wedge according to my invention is arranged so as to tend to be moved under load transversely of the press so as to transmit the lateral force of the load to the mas sive side portions of the press bed frame rather than to a bracket construction such as heretofore provided in presses of this type. I appreciate, however, that certain of the advantages associated with my two-wedge construction might be obtained by arranging the main wedge to move from front to back of the press,

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figure 1 the bed frame in its entirety is indicated as at 6 and comprises a relatively massive or solid base 1, spaced upright columns or pillars 8 and a reciprocating header slide 5. The base portion of the press opposite the lower face of the header slide 9 is preferably cut away as at H so as to slope toward the side of the machine at an angle of about 12 and upon this sloping surface is arranged the main wedge I! designed to support the bed frame dies during the pressing operations. It will be understood by those familiar with the art that the header slide 9 carries tools or dies designed to co-operate with or match the bed framedies to effect a shaping of the metal being pressed during the pressing operation. The thinner edge of the wedge I3 is preferably provided with an overhanging lug .H in its central portion (see Figure 2) and the thicker edge of the wedge i3 is arranged to bear against a secondary wedge 20 which wedge in turn bears directly against the massive side 2| in the base of the bed frame.

The secondary wedge 20 and the main or primary wedge l3 have matching inclined faces as indicated at 22 in Figure 2 so that the lateral thrust of the slide pressure is directed both toward the side wall 2| of the bed frame and rear wardly toward the back of the press. The tendency of the wedge 20 to move rearwardly in response to the lateral component going in this direction is resisted by a threaded sleeve 13 carried in the base of the bed frame at the back of the press. The sleeve 23 is externally threaded. fits within an internally threaded bore 24 and through the thrust ring 25 arranged between the wedge 20 and the sleeve 23 adjustably maintains the wedge II in position. A stud bolt 21 carried by the wedge 20 and a lock nut 2! permits the wedge 20 to be adjusted through the medium of the sleeve and locked in adjusted position.

A pair of bed frame bolts l5 and ii are preferably arranged to extend through the bed frame and bear against the thin edge of the wedge It in a manner to lock the wedge l3 firmly in position and to facilitate a releasing movement of the wedge in'the event that the wedge "is withdrawn and it is desired to release the header slide from a stalled or jammed condition.

From the above construction it will be understood that the main lateral component; that is. the main component resisting movement of the main wedge ll is transmitted directly to the massive bed frame through the wedge 20 and that a minor lateral component is transmitted rearwardly through the sleeve assembly 23-24-25. Thus although the main wedge may have an angle exceeding 10 and may be moved readily when the press is "stalled", the lateral component transmitted rearwardly and taken by a threaded connection with the bed frame is relatively small and may be easily accommodated by the threaded sleeve connection at 26. It will also be understood that the back of the press in the area indicated as at in Figure 2 is free of bed frame brackets, wedge resisting bolts and the like so that pressed pieces may be easily discharged through the back of the machine into a chute or conveyor.

Although I have described one embodiment of my invention in considerable detail wherein the wedge is arranged at a 12 angle, it will be appreciated that this angle may vary within such limits as will permit a release in the event of a jam and function as described above. It will also be understood that numerous other changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a press construction, a bed frame having a reciprocating header slide, the base of said bed frame having a front and back portion and opposed side portions, vertical bed frame columns arranged at the corners of the base defined by said front, back andside portions, a bed frame die support construction comprising a wedge seat formed in said base sloping downwardly from one side portion toward the other side portion and being closed at the front and back, a main wedge arranged in said seat and a second wedge abutting said main wedge on one side and hearing against a side portion of the bed frame at the other.

2. In a press construction, a bed frame having a reciprocating'header slide, the base of said bed frame having a front and back portion and opposed side wall portions, vertical bed frame columns arranged at the corners of the base defined by said front, back and side portions, a bed frame die support construction comprising a wedge seat formed in said base sloping from one side wall portion toward the other and being closed at the front and back, a wedge arranged in said seat and a second wedge abutting said first named wedge on one side and bearing against a side wall portion of the bed frame at the other, said first named wedge and said second wedge inclined with respect to each other from front-to-back of the base of the bed frame to urge said second wedge rearwardly in response to pressing slide pressure and means carried by the back of the bed frame to restrain rearward movement of said second wedge.

3. A press having a bed frame and a reciprocating header slide, said bed frame provided .with a die supporting wedge opposite the working face of said header slide, said wedge arranged on a sloping face of said bed frame, said sloping face and the underside of the wedge disposed at an angle exceeding 10 with respect to ahorizontal plane and a second wedge arranged transversely with respect to and in abutment with an end of said first named wedge with one side of the first named wedge to the bed frame.

4. In a press construction, a vertically disposed bed frame having a horizontally extending eccentric or crankshaft arranged todrive a vertically reciprocating header slide, the base of said bed frame opposite the working face of said heads er slide cut away at an angle with respect to the horizontal exceeding 18, a die supporting wedge having parallel straight side walls extending transversely of the bed frame with the thin edge of the wedge arranged at one side of the base of the bed frame and with the thickened edge of the wedge cut at an angle with respect to the side walls of the wedge and spaced from the adjacent side of the base of the bed frame, a second wedge arranged in the space between the first wedge and the side wall of the base of the bed frame having a tapered edge abutting the thick edge of the wedge and a straight edge abutting the adjacent side wall of the base of the bed frame, said second wedge being adjustable in the direction of its length to permit movement of said first named wedge, and means carried by the bed frame at the back of the base thereof to secure said second named wedge in adjusted position.

, 5. In a press construction, a bed frame having a sloping face, means to support a bed frame diecomprising a main wedge and a secondary wedge, said main wedge arranged to be moved along the sloping face of the bed frame laterally of the base of the bed frame and said secondary wedge abutting the main wedge, said secondary wedge being arranged to move in a horizontal plane to control themovements of said first named wedge.

6. In a vertical press construction, a bed frame having a base with parallel front and back portions joined to each other by side portions, a die supporting wedge arranged to move laterally of the press parallel to said front and back portions, means to control the lateral movement of said wedge comprising a secondary wedge abutting the first named wedge on one side and the side portion of the bed frame on the other side and threaded means carried by the bed frame in said back portion operatively associated with said secondary wedge to effect movement thereof.

'1. In a vertical press construction, a rectangular bed frame base having vertical columns at each corner thereof to define front and back and opposed side portions, a die supporting wedge arranged in a wedge recess between said front and back portions to move from one side of thebase towards the other, the thin side of said wedge having a hammer lug extending between the two vertical columns at that side of the base and the thick side of the wedge being spaced from the two vertical columns at the other side of the base, the thick side of said wedge being cut away to provide a tapering recess with the wide portion of the taper toward the back of the pressand a holding wedge arranged within said recess to bear against the thick portion of the wedge and the side of the bed frame, the wide portion of said holding wedge provided with an inter-threaded connection with the bed frame at the back of the press to maintain the position of said holding wedge.

8. In a press construction, a die supporting wedge assembly comprising a pair of co-operating wedges arranged to move laterally at right angles with respect to each other, one of said wedges restrained from lateral movement by the other wedge arranged between a vertical side wall portion of the bed frame and said one wedge, and means to control the position of said other wedge comprising a threaded sleevecarried'by the bed frame and extending therefrom in a position to engage said other wedge and'a bolt anchored to said other wedge extending axially of said threaded sleeve and a lock nut carried by said bolt to lock said sleeve and other wedge in position.

9. In a vertical press construction a bed frame having a base with front, back and opposed side portions and spaced columns extending upwardly at the corners of said base, said bed frame provided with openings between said columns and above said base at the front and back portions of said base, said openings being wider than the spaces between said columns at the side portions of said'base, a reciprocating header slide between said columns and above said base and a die supporting wedge assembly arranged in the base below said header slide, said base cut away on a plane inclined from one side of the base to the bly including a wedge arranged on said inclined face, and means providing substantially a con-.

tinuous bearing engagement for said wedge with respect to the side portion of the base and transmitting the header slide thrust from said wedge to the side portion of the base.

10. A press having a bed frame and a reciproeating slide, a main wedge supported on said bed frame in the area opposite said slide and adapted to support a die and to transmit to said bed frame the pressure of said slide, said main wedge being so arranged that a component of the pressure of said slide tends to move said main wedgewith respect to said bed frame, and a second wedge arranged between said main wedge and a portion of said bed frame and positioned to prevent such movement of the main wedge.

other as distinguished from the front to back portions of the base, said die supporting assem- 11. A press having a bed frame and a reciprceating slide, a main wedge supported on saidbed frame in the area opposite said slide and adapted to support a die and tojransmit to said bed frame the pressure of said slide, said main wedge being so arranged that a component of the pressure of said slide tends to move said main wedge with respect to said bed frame, a second wedge arranged between said main wedge and a portion of said bed frame and positioned to prevent such movement of the main wedge, and

means having a threaded engagement with said bed frame arranged to resist movement of said second wedge.

WHLIAML CLOUSI. 

